I stand near the edge of the commotion watching thoughts and ideas fly by. It is a tornado of creativity, anxiousness, hilarity and fear. They swirl about me like dust and debris.  I reach out to grasp one but it slips through my fingers. I stand back now and watch, waiting for the right one to float close enough for me to see, for me to reach out and take.  I hold my hands out, palms up, finally it lands, the image of a lump of clay. “This was you.” I hear.

I look at the clay grey and cracked. I feel its heaviness, it is cool and dry in my hands. It smells the earthy dampness. It is a solid unyielding mass in my hands. “This was you.” I hear it again, this time a verse floats into my view.

Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.  Isaiah 64:8

We have been known by God, who we are, who we were and who we will be. He, from a lump of clay has made us into a masterpiece. It takes kneading, the action of pushing and pulling to soften the clay in enough to work with. The creating begins, and He knows. 

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5

I think of statues, paintings, tapestries, even photographs, they are art, they are creations, concepts which are the ultimate result of a thought, or idea from the mind of the creator. I often marvel at the creativity, the artistry of God. Nature, humanity, galaxies all by His hand.

He took the time to think about me, every aspect of me, from the color of my eyes, to the fact I have crooked toes. Every single detail, and not just those on the outside. He created the inside as well. The feelings, the emotions, the way my brain works, and every little thing in between. Just stop at look at yourself. Could you have thought this up on your own? I think not. Yet, here we are, created by Him, and for Him to be a difference in this world. Oh, yes, He created the world as well. Amazing right?!

I have been given a gift, to write, to take pictures, to love, to share and to care deeply. I am so very thankful that my God choice to gift me this way. I could never do all this on my own. From a lump of damp earthy clay to a masterpiece of Christ, amazingly that is what we are.

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:8-10